Archbishop of St Andrews - List of Known Abbots

List of Known Abbots

There had been a monastery there since the 8th century. It was probably taken over by Céli Dé monks in the 9th or 10th centuries, and these survive into the 14th century. It is the Gaelic abbey, rather than the continental priory, that the abbot was in charge of; the importance of the Céli Dé abbey has come down into the modern era in the street names of St. Andrews.

Only a few abbots are known. It is often thought that the position of Abbot and Bishop were the same until the Norman era, although that can never be proved for certain.

Incumbent Dates Notes
Túathalán d. 747 His death in the Annals of Ulster constitutes our first literary evidence of any religious establishment at St. Andrews (then called by the Scoto-Pictish name Cennrigmonaid).
Unknown number of unnamed abbots Probably all the bishops before Fothad II, and perhaps before Turgot, were also abbots of the Céli Dé community.
Gille Críst fl. 1172-1178 That he is called abbot is evidence that the Céli Dé community were maintaining their independence from the priory in the period.

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